Spirit X is a custom designed UAV made by the  2018 Team. Spirit X utilizes its nature as an Octocopter to allow for greater maximum speeds, up to 20 knots, while still retaining versatility and maneuverability to best complete mission objectives. 

Designed to be able to complete the 2018 Mission Objectives, Spirit X features an object detection system and airdrop capability as its defining features. Powered by two LiPo batteries carefully contained in a custom designed 3D printed battery case, the aircraft is capable of up to 45 minutes of flight.

Spirit X was entirely custom designed so as to best complete mission objectives. Heavily utilizing 3D printing technology allowed Spirit X more versatility, as each part was specifically produced to work in tandem with each other part.

In order to make maximum use of this greater freedom of design, objectives had to be firmly established. Spirit X was designed with heavy focus on being able to accomplish Object Detection in a quick and expedient time frame, and the rest of the craft was designed with that in mind. 

Spirit X was stress tested, analyzed, and meticulously planned out, with dozens of different designs being vetted before the final current design was chosen. Each major part was designed by the Team to better fit their individual requirements than anything else on the open market.

When designing each part, certain factors had to be taken into account. Not only did each part have to be resilient enough to withstand the full spectrum of forces that were going to be applied to it during the course of the flight, but some parts also had to be made to protect more dangerous or fragile inner workings, all the while weight had to be cut wherever possible.

The battery cases were one particular noteworthy case of productive custom design. The cases had to be capable of not only protecting the batteries powering the drone, even in the worst case scenario of a crash, but also capable of supporting the valuable Electronics Plate carrying all of the Telemetry and GPS equipment necessary for the continued function of the drone. Thanks to efficient design that maximized support with minimal weight increase, this was accomplished.

Spirit X flew in the 2018 competition where it managed to secure second place for its performance. Making exemplary use of its advanced object detection system, Spirit X managed to identify nearly all of the various scattered identifiers before successfully performing the airdrop on the target location, all the while avoiding numerous obstacles.

Hundreds of hours of flight testing had to be done before the Spirit X was given permission to fly in the competition. Spirit X was flown in a variety of conditions to simulate the many possible parameters that it might face at competition.

After months of testing, Spirit X was given the go ahead to fly. Every part had been tested both in simulations and by empirical use, and the objectives were being complete with repeated success. 

Finally, the day of the Flight came. First out of the gate, Spirit X managed to secure a second place flight-line finish, coming in second place overall.